


sweet bird don’t fly away

by xuhaovt



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Dialogue Heavy, Fluff, M/M, Polyamory, Strangers to Lovers, Summer Romance, seventeen ensemble - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-07-27 20:16:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20051929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xuhaovt/pseuds/xuhaovt
Summary: Summer brings together three boys from three different lives together on a hot day. They find comfort in the other two within the few weeks they get to know each other and discover they want to spend the rest of their summer together. As it comes to an end, they realize they’ll have to part ways again. Nothing lasts forever, sometimes there’s no stopping the inevitable.orMingyu and Minghao bond over their crush on Seokmin who works at a smoothie shop.





	1. pretty u

**Author's Note:**

> so bear with me this is my first ot3 fic. i really love seokgyuhao and I’ve invested too much time reading au’s for them so I decided to start writing one of course. enjoy!

The sweat that had trickled down the side of his face as Minghao made the long,  _ long,  _ walk from his car to the shop doors was only chilled away by the strong air conditioner above the door. The heat was unbearable today, and Minghao almost wished he didn’t have to be out at the peak of the heat. He might as well get used to it though, seeing as the class he was going to be teaching that entire summer would always be starting at this time. Minghao hadn’t spent much time in Daegu yet, was only there because his favorite art professor had recommended him an amazingly paying job to teach art to 7-12 year olds and considering a friend of his already lived there to move in with, there was nothing stopping him. Beside the heat, which he would have been getting in Seoul too anyway, he already loved it there. Seoul was just a little too packed for him, too much going on, everything still feeling foreign even though he had already spent 3 years there since he moved from his hometown in China. Minghao knew despite the blinding heat he would love the rest of his summer there.

He thanked himself mentally for deciding he should try out a smoothie from the new shop that opened up a block away from his apartment. It was about 2pm, his class would start at 3 and he absolutely needed something to cool him down before taking on a room of 20+ kids. The shop also advertised a healthy promise on the large posters on their clear new windows, so Minghao figured it was worth a shot. Thanking himself even more was necessary when his attention was caught by a pretty boy behind the register, showing off a big toothy grin and the prettiest eye smile he’d ever seen to the customer who was obviously swooning over him. Minghao couldn’t blame her, the boy was captivating. He hadn’t been in the sun very long but it was evident this boy had the whole  _ sun _ beat by a landslide. His attention drifted away from said sunshine boy when he remembered he wasn’t in there to admire pretty boys with pretty smiles. He scanned the menu a few times before making his decision and walking up to the register to place his order.

“Hi, welcome to Sunshine Smoothies, what can I get you?” asked the boy in possibly the sweetest, caramel drizzled, cotton candy flavored, chocolate chip topping voice. Maybe that was an exaggeration.

_ You, sunshine _ , said the little voice in the back of Minghao’s head.

“I’ll take a Mango smoothie, small,” Minghao said instead, fishing out his wallet from his back pocket. Sunshine boy smiled as he entered his order onto the screen.

“Will that be all?” he asked, big smile still on his lips. Minghao looked up to meet his eyes for a brief second and returned the smile briefly.

“Yeah, that’s all.”

“Okay, that’ll be 6,900.”

Minghao handed Seokmin his card, waiting patiently as Seokmin charged him then handed him back his card and receipt politely, beaming smile still not gone.

“Thank you,” Minghao said, head ducking in return before he stuffed his receipt in his pocket and went to find a table to sit at. The next two minutes were uneventful as Minghao entertained himself between scrolling through Weibo on his phone and watching a few more customers walk in. He couldn’t help it though when he stole a flew glances at sunshine boy behind the register, who laughed and cheerfully chatted with a new customer. Though just about everybody in the little shop looked up when a tall, unfairly handsome young male walked inside, suitcase in tow. It was practically a scene out of a movie, the vent above the doors blowing on his clean white-t shirt, hair windswept, skin golden, and the gleam in his eyes all proving this man could literally be on the cover of Korea’s Most Handsome Man, or whatever magazine, Minghao didn’t care. Said handsome man seemed surprisingly oblivious to the looks everyone gave him as he awkwardly stumbled further inside with the suitcase and its evidently squeaky and possibly broken wheel.

Why was this man so beautiful? Why did he have a suitcase? How was he the only one in the place not sweating? How in the world did Minghao end up walking into this holy place where not one, but  _ two _ pretty boys decided it was time to ruin his life?

“Hi, can I get something with uh, coconut? Or I don’t know, strawberry or something?” handsome man asked sunshine boy. Sunshine boy seemed just about as in awe as everyone else in the shop was. Minghao sighed, of course this would happen to him. He began to swivel his chair back around.

“Uh, well I could do both? You can do up to four different flavors. Or I can add strawberry bubble to a coconut smoothie? The choices are endless,” sunshine boy informed him. Minghao couldn’t find it in him to look away now, endeared by the way he nervously rushed out the options yet still smiled so bright despite it.

Handsome boy seemed to grow equally as nervous and Minghao couldn’t help the internal groan. This time he looked away as the stranger took entirely too long to figure out what the employee was offering and what he even wanted. It wasn’t that Minghao was  _ annoyed _ , just couldn’t bear to watch another second of the two prettiest boys he’d ever seen equally make fools of themselves in front of each other.

“107, Small Mango,” was what pulled Minghao out of his thoughts. He got to his feet and retrieved his smoothie, not being able to help but steal another glance at the employee behind the register. A blush rose to his cheeks when he realized he’d been looking his way already.

  
  


-

  
  


The smoothie was good. It’s what Minghao would have told you if you asked why this was the fourth day in a row he came back into the shop. No, not because of the sunshine boy who obviously looked  _ happy  _ to see him on the third day when he walked in. Minghao was trying his luck; he wasn’t even sure if the boy would be working when he came in at 2pm everyday, yet to his happy surprise, he always was. On this particular day, sunshine boy looked, well, like  _ cloudy  _ boy. His smile was still there, though really just for general politeness and customer service, Minghao could tell that much. Other than that, the general happy glow around him was missing and Minghao was itching to know why or who could have possibly done this to him. Up until then, Minghao had never spoken a word to him, just gave his order, shared a smile and equally shared glances with from afar that were absolutely killing Minghao from the inside.

“Hi,” Minghao said this time as he approached the register. Sunshine boy seemed to be taken aback, also not used to Minghao saying anything but his order.

“Hi, what can I get you?” sunshine boy said, pressing a tight smile onto his pretty lips. Minghao chewed on his own bottom lip. The other days, he had been cheerily suggested new flavors, those which Minghao  _ always  _ agreed to.

“Um, I guess a blueberry and strawberry, small,” Minghao said slowly, not looking away for a little longer than necessary.

“Ok, 6,900.”

Minghao wasn’t ever really one to get nervous or shy around anyone he wanted to talk to. He was known for always saying what was on his mind. this time wouldn’t be different.

“I’m sorry if I’m being rude, but are you alright?” Minghao asked as he handed over his card. The employee looked up quickly, surprised by the question and cleared his throat. This time he smiled even wider, though obviously forced.

“Yeah, I’m great,” he replied, nodding in a way that seemed like he was trying to convince himself of it too. Minghao frowned. He looked behind him to check there was nobody else in line and leaned against the counter.

“I have a class at 3, and it gets pretty boring waiting around for it to start,” Minghao commented lightly. The other raised an eyebrow, obviously confused as to why Minghao was sharing this information.

“Oh, you take summer classes?” he asked anyway. He knew better than to be rude to customers, it was better to continue a conversation.

“No, actually I teach it, it’s just an art class for kids,” Minghao said. He wasn’t prepared by the way the employee absolutely lit up upon hearing his response.

“You teach  _ kids _ ?” he asked excitedly, “That sounds so fun and it’s art too? I didn’t know there were art classes around here, that’s so  _ cute _ .” Minghao couldn’t help but smile in response, the sudden energy was very infectious.

“Yeah, it’s pretty fun, they’re all actually really polite and well-behaved, I wasn’t expecting it. They really love all the activities and stuff, I wasn’t sure they’d be into it,” Minghao continued. He didn’t expect to go off on a tangent to talk about himself. His goal had been to get the other to take a break and maybe even share what had gotten him so down. But if he was  _ this  _ excited and happy about talking about Minghao’s job, he’d take that too.

“Kids are really hard to entertain sometimes, I know. What kind of stuff do you guys do?” he asked, putting down Minghao’s card and leaning closer on the counter between them. Minghao took his card and placed it into his wallet.

“Uh, well so far we’ve finished one small project and working on two more at the same time. It’s only the first week. I’m really siked about these jars we’re making though, they get to decorate it with anything they want, paint, paper material, any kind of crafts, whatever they want. Some of them are trying to fill it with stuff too, I have one kid attempting to make and fill the whole thing with slime in every color, don’t know how that’ll work out.” Minghao hadn’t gotten much time to talk about how his first few days had gone, since his roommate and he had completely opposite schedules and he’d yet to find the time to talk to his mother on the phone about it. He didn’t really have anyone else. It felt good to talk about it.

“That’s so cool, I love free projects like that, without too many rules, it really lets them get imaginative,” sunshine boy practically gushed. Minghao was absolutely captivated once again by his smile.

“You seem like you’ve worked with kids before,” Minghao prompted. The other smiled a little more shyly at this.

“No, no not much, I used to help out with my old teacher’s musicals for the primary kids, I really liked it.”

“Oh musicals? Like what?”

The employee appeared more shy when asked. Minghao wondered why.

“Um, just typical stuff. Did a version of Alice in Wonderland once, and Cats one year I think.”

“That’s cool, I guess this place is just full of artistic talent, huh,” Minghao said.

“Are you not from here?”

Minghao shook his head, “No, I go to school in Seoul, but I got offered the job here.”

He lit up once again, “ _ I  _ go to school in Seoul too! Institute of Arts.” Minghao’s eyebrows raised in surprise. He knew practically everyone at school, how’d he never notice someone like him.

“So do I, how’ve I never seen you before?” Minghao asked, replicating the other’s sudden excitement.

“That’s so cool, but uh, I guess I just blend in around there, don’t do much to stick out,” he replied with the same shyness returning. Minghao opened his mouth to reply once again but was pulled away from his thought when he noticed sunshine boy straightening up once again and directing his attention to someone behind him.

“Oh, sorry,” Minghao said quickly as he backed away, bowing quickly as he turned to see a customer behind him. The customer seemed familiar, this Minghao thought for about three seconds before realizing it was the same boy from a few days ago who had came in with a dazzling smile and suitcase. The suitcase was missing.

“That’s okay, you’re fine,” handsome boy said, waving his hands gently in front of him. Minghao returned his smile and headed over to a table only to be called up for his smoothie. Minghao dared wave a short goodbye at the boy behind the counter before making his way out.

  
  


-

  
  


If Mingyu was being honest, he didn’t like smoothies all that much, fruit in general really for that matter. He liked savory and spicy foods, sweet wasn’t meant for Mingyu unless it was sweet boys with sweet smiles. He hadn’t returned to the smoothie shop since the first day he made an absolute fool of himself. In his defense he had just flown in, straight off a 16 hour flight from California with only one stop. So Mingyu gave himself three days to adjust his sleep schedule, fill his apartment with a few pieces of needed furniture and some food. It wasn’t until then that he went back to the smoothie shop, having been walking by after a trip to the gym to get a membership.

After watching the cute boy apologize and walk away from him, he turned to face the blushing, equally pretty boy behind the counter. “Hi,” he said immediately, beaming smile as he leaned over the counter in a way not at all like someone about to just order a smoothie and go. The employee backed away in surprise though let out a small giggle. Mingyu could not be more endeared.

“Hi,” he returned, pursing his lips for a second before remembering exactly what he should be doing, “what can I get you?”

“What do you recommend, pretty?” Mingyu asked brightly, not even taking a glance at the menu similarly to what he had done the first time. Though he was prepared to not make a fool of himself this time. The other blushed even darker and laughed nervously.

“Um, well one of my favorites is the Peach Paradise. It has peach and banana,” he said, chewing on his lip. He’d suddenly forgotten everything that was on the menu. Mingyu couldn’t help but admire him for a few seconds, leaning his head on his hand.

“I guess I’ll take that then,” he said after the pause of silence. The other did everything to avoid his strong gaze, only looking up to take the card from his hand.

“Okay, your order will be up soon,” he said shyly, smile still wide.

“What’s your name?” Mingyu asked, without skipping a beat. He grinned when the other let out a heavy breath and looked away to attempt to hide the blush that was deepening further again.

“Uh, Seokmin,” he responded quietly. Mingyu hummed and nodded.

“Seokmin,” he repeated, “okay.”

Mingyu walked over to a table and sat down to wait for his smoothie, attention glued to his phone. He could tell Seokmin was stealing glances at him, something that would’ve boosted his ego if it was anyone else. Instead he was just honored someone so pretty would actually look at  _ him _ . After getting his drink, he headed out, only turning to send a quick wink at Seokmin whose knees almost buckled underneath him.

  
  


-

  
  
  


The next day was a Friday. It was Minghao’s last day of the week with the kids before a good weekend to catch up with his roommate, Junhui and actually take the time to explore Daegu a little bit. Like the rest of the week, he visited the smoothie shop first, always looking forward to this part of the day. When he walked in, to his disappointment, sunshine boy wasn’t at the register. Minghao did his best to hide this fact as he ordered from the nice employee who didn’t give him as big of a smile. After his order, he went to find a seat by the window, not noticing he’d sat down two seats away from the handsome boy from the day before and Monday. Mingyu, noticed this though.

“Hey, I’ve seen you before,” Mingyu said immediately, twisting his stool around to face the other. Minghao raised an eyebrow as he turned his head, unsure if the stranger was referring to him. He recognized him just as well but was still unsure as to how to respond.

“Uh, yeah,” Minghao answered lamely. Mingyu smiled, canines showing and highlighting his puppy look.

“You’re that one guy who almost tripped over his suitcase on Monday.” Mingyu’s smile dropped and Minghao laughed.

“Hey, it was broken, I was tired,” Mingyu practically whined in defense. Minghao smiled further, amused by a practically grown man who was this wildly beautiful just  _ whining. _

“Why would you even come in with a suitcase?”

“I just came in from California,” Mingyu replied, getting up from his stool and moving over to the one next to Minghao. Mingyu already had his drink with him.

“Oh, wow that’s a distance,” Minghao commented, “Are you from there or just visited?”

“I actually go to school there, but I’m from here, so I came back for the summer,” Mingyu replied, taking a sip from his drink. Minghao’s eyes followed his thick lips wrapping around the red straw. Mingyu, noticing this, swiped his tongue between his lips. Minghao brought himself back to the conversation in a flurry of embarrassment.

“What school do you go to?” Minghao asked, not really sure what else to ask or talk about.

“Stanford,” Mingyu replied, a little dryly.

“98, Berry blend,” the girl at the counter said, bringing Minghao away from the conversation. He excused himself from Mingyu and went to get his drink, coming back to sit down despite his better judgement to get headed off to his class.

“So what’s your name?” Mingyu asked after watching Minghao sit back down next to him.

“Myungho,” he replied, taking a sip from his smoothie. He swung his legs as they were a few inches away from the ground. He took note of the fact Mingyu’s feet were firmly planted on the ground.

“And you?”

“Mingyu, Kim Mingyu,” he replied, twisting his straw inside his drink. He hadn’t taken another drink from it since the one time.

“Do you like that?” Minghao asked curiously. Mingyu looked at his cup and chuckled lightly.

“Not really, I don’t like fruit much.”

Minghao’s eyebrows furrowed. Mingyu laughed again.

“Uh, well, in all honesty, the first time I came in it was so a friend could pick me up here after the taxi dropped me off. Second time I came back to talk to that pretty boy behind the counter, Seokmin,” Mingyu said without hesitation. Minghao laughed in response. He shook his head in amusement, though really couldn’t say anything considering he was there for the same reason. At least in his defense, he liked the smoothies.

“Seokmin’s his name?” Minghao asked instead. Mingyu quirked an eyebrow curiously.

“Yeah, should’ve thought through the fact he wouldn’t be working every day.”

“Yeah,” Minghao agreed quietly. Mingyu grinned this time though didn’t comment on it.

“Well, I’m gonna get going,” he said, lifting his long body off the stool and standing up tall. Minghao would already have to look up at him if he was standing but sitting he craned his neck even further. He smiled and nodded in response, watching as Mingyu left the shop. Minghao waited until he was done with his smoothie before he headed off to work.

  
  


-

  
  


When Monday came around, Seokmin was, overwhelmed to say the least. He somehow made it through a cute and gentle Minghao talking to him about musicals Seokmin used to do in high school, using all the time possible to listen to everything Seokmin gushed about. Then handled a hot and tall Mingyu shamelessly flirting with him and asking him how his day went only five minutes later. It was really the icing on top of the cake though when Mingyu immediately went to sit next to Minghao, talking animatedly only a few meters away from him. Seokmin didn’t know how this could be happening to him or what he possibly did to deserve attention from either of them.

“I’ve seen all kinds of smiles on that boy but you make him literally  _ cherry red _ ,” Minghao commented when Mingyu came back with his drink. Mingyu grinned, stealing a glance at Seokmin who was attending to another customer.

“He’s cute and he’s cuter when he blushes like that,” Mingyu said with a pretty smile. Minghao chuckled lightly, nodding silently in agreement. Minghao couldn’t even dare be jealous, it didn’t matter that someone else was making him blush as long as it was happening. Mingyu was absolutely right. “So what brings you around at the same time every day?” he asked.

“Uh, I teach a class at 3,” Minghao answered, looking at his watch. It was only 2:20. “The smoothies are good and it’s always hot so it’s just part of my routine now I guess,” Minghao shrugged.

“Oh, that’s sick, what do you teach?” Mingyu asked with interest. Minghao smiled warmly.

“It’s just an art class for 7-12 year olds, only been teaching for about a week,” Minghao replied. Mingyu hummed, fingers on his straw. Minghao glanced at it and laughed. “You know you could just get a water or something.” Mingyu looked down to look at his drink.

“Well who walks into a smoothie store for a  _ water? _ ”

“Someone who doesn’t like fruit and thinks the boy who works there is pretty,” Minghao answered bluntly.

“Hey, he doesn’t need to know that. Do you see how happy he is to suggest new flavors and try mixes that aren’t on the menu?”

Minghao smiled,  _ that  _ Mingyu was right about.

“What do you even do with it?”

“Last time I gave it to my friend,” Mingyu shrugged. He looked up meet Minghao’s eyes. He was silent for a few seconds. “Are you from here?” Minghao snorted. “Sorry, it’s just, Myungho is not really a common name, I was just wondering.” Minghao knew that and the fact he still sort of had an accent that slipped through some words.

“I’m from China, I moved in about four years ago and started going to the Institute of Arts in Seoul the next year.” Mingyu formed an “o” with his mouth.

“I always wanted to attend there,” Mingyu said quietly, resting his head on his hand. Minghao wasn’t sure if it was his place to ask, but Mingyu had asked a personal enough question himself already so it was only fair.

“Why didn’t you?”

“My parents want me to be a doctor, sent me to Stanford without even asking me what I thought about it,” Mingyu answered. His tone of voice was softer. Minghao frowned, pursing his lips. He’d been lucky enough to have parents who always supported his dream. He didn’t come from a background with much money but there was family in Seoul that could take care of him and scholarships he earned that helped him be where he was.

“I’m sorry about that,” Minghao said gently. “What did you want to do?” At this, Mingyu brightened up a little bit.

“I want to get into acting kind of. I do a lot of modeling jobs right now, just cause I’ve found it easier than acting gigs anywhere. I’ve done lots of musicals though, since I was like 14, love it,” Mingyu grinned, canines showing again. Minghao was reminded of Seokmin talking about musicals and smiled fondly.

“That’s great you keep going at it despite,” Minghao said honestly. “Don’t give up on it you know, nothing’s more important than your dreams.” Mingyu’s features softened and he nodded silently.

“Thanks, it’s nice to hear,” Mingyu murmured. A silence set over both of them that was only interrupted by Seokmin walking over with some napkins.

“Uh,” Seokmin stammered out, catching their attention. Seokmin hesitated for a second then put down the napkins quickly. “I thought you guys would uh, need some?” The fact it came out as question amused Mingyu who grinned.

“Thank you sunshine,” Mingyu said happily. Seokmin huffed, turning back around and hurrying back over behind the counter. Minghao giggled quietly and shook his head.

“Let him breathe,” Minghao said in amusement. Mingyu shrugged.

“What?  _ He _ came up to  _ us _ . He’s all cute finding an excuse to come over here.” Minghao shook his head, still smiling. “I know you think he’s cute too.”

Minghao scoffed. “Yeah, and? I don’t wanna fluster him every time I see him.” Mingyu shrugged again. “Okay, I have to get to work,” Minghao finally decided, standing up from his seat. Mingyu followed after him in a rush.

“Would you mind if I come along?” Mingyu asked. Minghao gave him a bewildered look. Why on earth would Mingyu want to do something like that. “Sorry, that sounded weird. You work at that studio downtown right? I’ve been wanting to find some pieces for inspiration for this project I’ve been working on.”

“Oh, yeah sure, I could give you a ride if you want, I’d love to hear about that,” Minghao said in interest. Mingyu smiled warmly and followed him out. Neither of them left without waving a goodbye at Seokmin who was not so surprisingly already watching them leave.

  
  


-

  
  


By the next friday, Seokmin had gotten used to his two usual, pretty customers. They both talked to him frequently as well as each other, and Seokmin got to learn their names as well. He had dared to ask how long they’d known each other considering they talked to each other even more frequently than they did with him. To his surprise it’d seemed they all knew each other just about the same amount. This prompted Mingyu to asking Seokmin to hang out that weekend, including Minghao though he hadn’t asked him.

“What if I was busy?” Minghao asked with an exasperated sigh when Mingyu came to sit with him and inform him of their plans.

“Are you?” Mingyu asked, amused.

“No,” Minghao mumbled, then sighed again. “What are we gonna do?”

“I suggested a movie, but I don’t know, we can do something else?” Minghao shrugged in response. “Let me see your phone,” Mingyu said. Minghao raised his eyebrow in question though fished out his phone and slid it over to Mingyu. Mingyu opened up his contacts app and put his number in. “Text me, we’ll figure it out you know as to not bore him.” Mingyu chuckled.

“You know this is a little weird right?” Minghao prompted. Mingyu gave him a confused look. “You basically asked him out, then invited me along?”

“I didn’t  _ ask him out _ , we’re just hanging out, and you like him too so I just figured you’d wanna come.”

“I never said I liked him,” Minghao frowned.

“Okay, but you do so.”

“I don’t. And even if I did, it’s still weird. You’re attracted to him and he’s obviously attracted to you and instead of asking him out on a  _ date  _ you invited both of us to hang out.” 

“I just thought it would be fun,” Mingyu said, so happily and purely that Minghao couldn’t help but smile too anyway. “Do you not want to come?”

“I do, it’ll be fun, you’re right.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”


	2. falling for u

Seokmin got to know Minghao and Mingyu a lot over the course of a few weeks. They began to hang out more, between the times Minghao and Seokmin didn’t work. They found out Minghao was popular around school by being Vice President of one of his clubs and taking part in lots of school activities. He did gymnastics and dancing all throughout secondary school and was popular around his hometown in China too. They learned about some of his favorite meals and what kind of things he missed doing back home. Along with that they learned Mingyu came from a strict household and had his parents pay for all of his things despite not wanting it. His entire stay for the summer though was paid by money he saved up through his modeling gigs, so his parents actually had no idea he was even in town. Mingyu also confessed about wanting to drop out of school, because being a biology major was the last thing he wanted. As for Seokmin, the other two learned how shy and reserved he was everywhere but on stage. He was a performing arts major and had a voice of pure gold. He’d never been anywhere else but Seoul and Daegu so hearing about the adventures the other two had in other countries completely amazed him. They’d all grown close in individual ways, sometimes hanging out without the other. It wasn’t as nice as it was when it was all three of them, so without thinking about it they all tried to find time when it could be all three of them.

“I think I like him,” Mingyu told Minghao one afternoon, when it was just them two after Seokmin was called in last minute to come in to work. The two were having lunch at Mingyu’s place, attempting to get through all the extra that was left due to Seokmin not coming. Mingyu was a great cook though so Minghao didn’t mind it.

“Oh,” Minghao said quietly, knowing without asking exactly who he was talking about. Minghao took a sip of his water and sat back. “Well I think he likes you too,” he said, a kind smile on his lips. Mingyu frowned in response though. He sighed and put down his chopsticks.

“I know you like him too,” Mingyu said quietly. Minghao shook his head right away. Mingyu hadn’t known him long but he could tell a lie was coming his way.

“I don’t,” Minghao said strictly. He couldn’t dare show any emotion on his face. He probably did, he knew that. He was aware of how hard his heart thumped in his chest when he saw Seokmin. He smiled brighter and felt like his whole day could be uplifted every time he heard his laugh. Minghao would do anything to see his smile and hurt anyone who dare take it away. So yeah, maybe he liked him, but Minghao knew better than to come between two people who were obviously a lot better for each other. He could never make Seokmin giggle and blush like Mingyu could. He couldn’t make him laugh with bad jokes to the point he was practically toppling over Mingyu. “You should go for it, really, I always thought you should.” Mingyu didn’t dare speak another word about it, finishing up his lunch.

-

Mingyu didn’t ask him out. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly why he couldn’t do it but he thought things would be okay anyway. So they continued like normal, growing closer over the course of the rest of the summer.

“Mingyu wanted to know if you wanted to get dinner tonight,” Minghao said after he’d ordered the smoothie he wanted for that day. Mingyu didn’t come by as often anymore after the day he’d confessed to Seokmin he didn’t actually like fruit, just wanted to talk to Seokmin.

“Yes, can we go to that one place again, I forgot what it’s called, the one where Mingyu spilled his coke all over his pants,” Seokmin said excitedly. Minghao giggled at the memory and nodded. They’d both learned by now Mingyu was prone to dropping and knocking stuff over constantly. He didn’t seem to be at all used to his long limbs.

“Yeah, sounds good, I’ll pick you up?” Minghao asked.

“Actually if it’s okay could you pick me up from my house I wanna go home and shower first,” Seokmin said. Minghao couldn’t help but still feel fond over the fact Seokmin was asking if something like that was okay as if it wasn’t just a simple request. He agreed then spent the next few minutes talking to Seokmin about what they’d both been doing since the last time they saw each other(two days ago) until Minghao got his drink and headed to work.

That night, Minghao already had Mingyu in the car with him when they picked Seokmin up. Mingyu sighed, leaning against the headrest of the front seat. He’d decided to sit in the back so Seokmin could have the front seat with Minghao.

“He always looks so pretty,” Mingyu mumbled, watching Seokmin walk up to the car. Ever since he’d told Minghao about his feelings, Mingyu had grown a lot softer with his comments about Seokmin. Minghao found it cute, that flirty confident Mingyu could be this soft and gentle. Minghao just snorted in response, glancing at Mingyu who was just about pouting in the back seat.

“I know,” Minghao said in a voice that to anybody else would seem as pure annoyance. Mingyu knew better than that. Seokmin opened the car door and slipped into the front seat with a sigh.

“Hi guys,” he chirped, hand instinctively wrapping around Minghao’s wrist for a second and glancing at Mingyu in the back. Seokmin was far too accustomed with skin ship, this they both knew within a few days of hanging out with him. Minghao started the car and began to drive off toward the restaurant.

“How was your day sugar?” Mingyu asked, leaning over the center console to get a better look at Seokmin. Seokmin, still not used to the flurry of nicknames blushed lightly before answering.

“It was good, not too many people came in. Which, is actually bad for business if we plan on not going broke but better for me. No rude customers,” Seokmin said.

“I don’t know how anybody could be rude to you, you’re so nice, and perfect at your job,” Mingyu said with a frown, wrapping a hand around Seokmin’s arm. Seokmin smiled and patted Mingyu’s fluffy hair.

“They’re just cranky you know, or having a bad day or something,” Seokmin said innocently. Of course Seokmin would defend them. “How about you guys?”

“Well one of the kids that dropped out last week came back today, so that was nice. His parents weren’t able to find him a ride anymore but they found someone else since he really badly wanted to come back,” Minghao said, soft smile on his face. Seokmin grinned widely and squeezed Minghao’s arm.

“Of course they’d come back, you’re a _ great _teacher,” Seokmin said. Minghao and Mingyu could feel the brightness radiating off the smiley boy.

“And other than that, nothing much but, oh! You should’ve heard one of the younger girls, Soojin, that I told you guys about last time. She’s so _ funny. _ I was going over a quick lesson on critiques and stuff but I tried to keep it simple you know, just for their age level. So they were going around their tables writing constructive criticism or compliments on little post it’s for each piece and when Soojin comes back to her piece and reads the comments she just steps back and _ hits the woah _ ,” Minghao started laughing now, “the other kids thought it was so funny too, honestly it was just cute how she got the whole class at that point just hitting the damn _ woah _of all things.” Mingyu snorted from the back seat and Seokmin awed adorably.

“It’s so lame when you do it, how do a bunch of kids find it funny?” Mingyu said, amused.

“They find everything funny, they’re nicer than you, you know,” Minghao bit back bitterly. Mingyu laughed and used his other hand to wrap around Minghao’s arm.

“I’m nice, you’re just fun to tease,” Mingyu said, squeezing his arm. Minghao just scowled.

“And you Mingyu?” Seokmin asked, turning to look at him again.

“Not much like usual, just watched a drama at home for a few hours,” Mingyu hummed. He never really had anything to do considering he didn’t have a job there or anybody to hang out with. Mingyu was constantly thankful he made friends the first day he arrived so he wouldn’t have to hang out with only Wonwoo every day. “I kind of want to go to the beach.”

“Ooh, I wanna go! Can we? I have a few days off after tomorrow?” Seokmin said excitedly. He looked between the two who then looked at each other.

“I have Saturday, Sunday off only,” Minghao said, “but if you guys want to?”

Mingyu grinned and sat up straight. “Yes, let’s do it.” Seokmin clapped in excitement to which Minghao and Mingyu smiled softly in response.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they attempted to have a normal dinner. This was pretty difficult when Mingyu caused Seokmin to draw a lot of attention to them. He tried his best to make Seokmin laugh loud enough to have people giving them weird looks. Minghao would be embarrassed for them if he didn’t find the two endearing and wasn’t laughing a little with them himself.

“You guys are so loud,” Minghao practically hissed at them, hand on the side of his face to avoid the looks people were giving them. Seokmin giggled, wrapping himself around Minghao’s arm.

“Sorry, Myungho-ya,” he said, still coming off the high of laughing at Mingyu’s story about one of his friends back in the states.

“Relax Myungho, just a little bit,” Mingyu said, putting both elbows on the table in front of him and resting his head on his hands. Minghao looked at him for a few seconds, pursing his lips.

“You’re cute,” Minghao said, quicker than he could react to it. It was the first thing he thought of and at that moment the brain to mouth filter had disappeared. Seokmin’s eyes went wide enough to convey the other two’s reactions. Mingyu laughed instead and sat back in his seat.

“I know that.”

Seokmin looked up at Minghao who was blushing pink.

“We all know that,” Seokmin said, nudging Minghao in his attempt to distract him from his outburst. Minghao nodded, not really knowing what else to say. It wasn’t that odd of a comment to make especially when Mingyu was constantly complimenting and flirting with Seokmin openly. It was just never the kind of thing that came out of Minghao’s mouth. It was even more unexpected for Minghao and Mingyu that it hadn’t been directed at Seokmin. It was silent for a few more seconds before Seokmin spoke up. “Anyway, now that we’ve established how pretty Mingyu is, you guys wanna talk about the trip?”

Mingyu laughed, and Minghao didn’t understand why he felt a little stung by the fact Mingyu avoided his eyes for the rest of the night. He must have made Mingyu uncomfortable, and he knew that. He’d told himself he’d stay out of what was going on between Seokmin and Mingyu and he went and called _ Mingyu _ cute? Of all things he called Mingyu _ cute _? He’d probably ruined whatever could possibly go on between Mingyu and Seokmin and he knew that. He hated that. So Minghao was silent for the rest of the night and Mingyu hardly spoke to him. Seokmin was left trying to make up for it.

-

“I don’t think you’re cute,” Minghao huffed out. He had knocked on Mingyu’s door at almost midnight, obviously not thinking Mingyu would be opening the door. It wasn’t that big of a deal and Minghao knew that, it was just a compliment and it meant nothing yet Minghao felt _ guilty. _Mingyu was shirtless and obviously had been woken up, a grumpy look on his face as he rubbed his eye.

_ Maybe a little cute. _

“Well thanks?” Mingyu mumbled in an awfully low and rough tone. Minghao chewed on his bottom lip roughly.

“I just- I wanted to say that cause you know, you know I like Seokmin,” Minghao stuttered out. He wasn’t even sure what he was trying to say. Mingyu opened the door wider and Minghao basically stomped inside. If Mingyu was more awake he’d find it adorable.

“You do.”

“I do,” Minghao sighed, breathed a few seconds and turned back to meet Mingyu’s tired eyes. “But he likes you and that’s okay. I think you guys are meant for each other and I don’t know why you haven’t asked him out. He’s going to think there’s something going on with us when there’s _ not. _I know how easily he could get affected by that, and I’m sorry,” Minghao said quickly, so fast his accent seeped through most of his words. Mingyu crossed his arms and sighed deeply.

“It’s fine, I wasn’t gonna ask him out anyway,” Mingyu said.

“But, why?”

“I just can’t, I like our friendship, I’ve only known you guys for a good, like, month and a half but I feel really close to you both and I don’t want to ruin that,” he said honestly. He took another step closer to take Minghao’s hand in his and squeezed it.

“Seriously, it was a silly thing to get upset about, I don’t know why I acted like such a kid about,” Mingyu said, giving him a soft smile. Minghao was still frowning, not being able to meet Mingyu’s big brown eyes. So Mingyu wrapped his arms around him, pressing Minghao’s face against his chest. Minghao sighed.

“I’m sorry for being so dramatic about it,” Minghao said with a small chuckle.

“It was pretty dramatic,” Mingyu snickered. The other scoffed and pushed himself away from Mingyu’s chest. “I mean you came knocking on my door at midnight.” Minghao rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“Are we good?” Mingyu asked, holding both of Minghao’s shoulders. The smaller boy nodded before yawning, tiredness setting in now that he felt at ease. “You wanna just stay over?” Minghao opened his mouth to protest but decided he was too tired and nodded.

“I’ll just sleep on the couch,” Minghao mumbled, stepping over to the small piece of furniture in the living area.

“The bed’s big just sleep with me, come on,” Mingyu said. Minghao hesitated.

“Mingyu...”

“Just, come on,” Mingyu said, grabbing Minghao’s wrist and pulling him towards his room. Minghao just let him, stumbling into the room with him and slipping into the nice cool bed next to Mingyu. He had already been in his own pajamas, leaving his slippers by the bed as he situated himself under the sheets. Mingyu got into bed next to him, only a few centimeters away. Though he had invited him, Mingyu wasn’t sure how exactly he was supposed to fall asleep with Minghao in his bed. For some reason he felt nervous about it, having the obviously pretty boy so close to him.

“Goodnight.”

Mingyu breathed in quietly, “Night Myungho.”

The next morning, Minghao woke up to a heavy weight on his chest. He grumbled sleepily, twisting a little though not being able to move from whatever was holding him down. Not only was Mingyu’s head on his chest but his arm was draped over him too, perfectly restricting him.

“Mingyu-ah,” Minghao groaned, shaking Mingyu’s arm to attempt to wake him up. Mingyu made a noise in response, tightening his arm around Minghao. “Come on, wake up,” he huffed out. Mingyu groaned again and tucked his face into Minghao’s neck. Minghao felt his face heat up at the contact and sighed. He waited a few more seconds, not sure exactly why. His hand brushed over Mingyu’s arm and he eyed the ceiling.

“Morning,” Mingyu mumbled, further tucking his nose into Minghao’s neck. Minghao scoffed and pushed his arm off of him.

“Come on, get off, you’re heavy,” Minghao grumbled, struggling to get himself out of Mingyu’s hold though managed. He got up to his feet and slipped back into his shoes. He checked the time on his phone to see it was 8 am.

“You gonna stay for breakfast? I can make something?” Mingyu said, star-fishing out on his bed. Minghao dared steal a glance at him. He looked precious that way, soft upper body pliant against the sheets, fluffy blue pajama pants with star ships on them covering his long legs.

“We’re going to the beach, remember? I should get my stuff ready first and tell Seokmin to come over to eat too,” Minghao said, making his way out of the room. “Make something good, we’ll be here in an hour.”

Minghao returned with Seokmin as promised within the hour, both of them ready for the beach. They had breakfast, Seokmin happier when he realized Mingyu and Minghao weren’t being weird around each other anymore. After breakfast they piled into Minghao’s car and made their way to the beach about an hour out. The trip was fun, all three of them singing along to songs on Seokmin’s playlist. Seokmin took lots of pictures on the way of the three of them, claiming he needed memories to keep. When they arrived at the beach, Seokmin was the first to run out onto the sand, excited to be on the open space. Mingyu and Minghao trailed after him.

“Come on you guys wanna play Frisbee?” Seokmin said, running back to the two to fish out the disc from inside the bag Mingyu was holding. Inside was only a lunch he had packed for them to eat and a picnic blanket.

“When’d you put that in there?” Mingyu asked first, confused considering it was his bag. Minghao took the offer first and ran after Seokmin, both of them finding a good distance from each other to throw the Frisbee. Mingyu sighed and found a spot to set down his bag and joined the other two. They played for a good while, up until Mingyu began to back up dangerously close to the cold water. Minghao and Seokmin noticed this though said nothing, waiting until Mingyu got washed up to his knees in freezing water. He let out a loud yelp, running out of the water, laughing. The other two burst out laughing as well, Seokmin toppling over in the sand and sitting as he continued to laugh. It was really Seokmin’s laugh that was infectious enough to keep the other two laughing for a good while. “It’s cold,” Mingyu whined. “Come on it’s not fair.” He latched on to Minghao’s arm tugging him over to the water.

“Mingyu, stop, Mingyu!” Minghao yelped, not being very effective against Mingyu’s strength. Mingyu grabbed him by the waist instead, unsuccessfully trying to sling him over and into the water. The only thing that stopped him was Seokmin running up behind them to Minghao’s aide. So the other two dragged Mingyu back into the water. All they could do was run in opposite directions, laughing wildly as they escaped a very wet Mingyu attempting to hug them both. He targeted Seokmin and ran after him for a short distance, catching up to him and picking him up in a tight embrace.

“You’re cold!” Seokmin shrieked, struggling in Mingyu’s grasp. He laughed and laughed until Mingyu set him down though didn’t release him from his grip. Mingyu had his arms wrapped around his waist tightly head tucked into Seokmin’s shoulder. “Let me go,” Seokmin said through a weaker laugh, stilling in Mingyu’s embrace. Mingyu stalled a second before letting him go. Minghao had walked away at this point, going back to retrieve their bag.

“Come on,” Seokmin said, pulling on Mingyu’s wrist and bringing him back to where Minghao was. When the three joined again, they put away the Frisbee and went to walk along the shore to where some of the shops were. Seokmin walked between the other two, enjoying the feeling of the sand under his feet and his new, great friends with him.

“I’m really glad I met you guys,” Mingyu said, speaking Seokmin’s thoughts. The other two smiled and Seokmin felt Minghao’s hand brush against his. He couldn’t help letting his fingers slip in between his.

“I’m glad too, you guys have made summer a lot better than it could have been,” Seokmin said happily, fingers tightening in Minghao’s grip.

“You guys are so…” Minghao mumbled. Seokmin scoffed, he didn’t know how Minghao could pretend to be bugged when his hand was literally in his. Mingyu glared at him. “Ya, okay okay, I love you losers.” Seokmin smiled widely, bringing his arm in closer.

“I’ve been thinking about something,” Mingyu said, eyes moving down to the sand they walked on. Seokmin wrapped his arm around Mingyu’s sensing the seriousness in his tone. Mingyu sighed, waiting a few more seconds. “It’s really gonna suck but I have to go back to California.” Seokmin sucked in a breath and felt Minghao grip his hand tighter. “I know I said I would think about dropping out and stuff and really going for what I want but I don’t think I can do it, I can’t go against my parents.” Minghao felt his insides twist together. He knew this was against Mingyu’s happiness and he hated that but he couldn’t say anything against it. Seokmin seemed to feel the same because all he could do was exchange a sad look with him. Minghao let go of Seokmin’s hand and moved around to Mingyu’s side so Mingyu was between them now. He wrapped his hand around Mingyu’s arm as well.

“We’re really gonna miss you,” Minghao said softly, rubbing his arm with his other hand.

“It’s okay guys, it’s still a while before I’ll leave, don’t get all sad on me yet,” Mingyu said, trying to comfort either them or himself, whatever it was, it wasn’t working that well. They walked in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the soft waves on the beach and the wind.

“We’re gonna make the most out of the next few weeks okay?” Seokmin said, smile on his lips as he turned around and walked backwards a few steps. “It’ll be the best.” Mingyu couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re so cute,” Mingyu laughed, taking a few steps closer and turning him around and wrapping his arm around his back. Minghao caught up to them and caught Seokmin’s hand in his again.

“Alright boys, let’s go, the shops are up there,” Minghao said, tugging the two over across the sand. They all walked up to one of the souvenir stores. There was a section filled with glasses that attracted Minghao while Seokmin found an array of cute headbands. Mingyu ended up being stuck being their model, trying out many variations of sunglasses and puppy, kitty, anything under the sun headbands. Eventually Mingyu bought them their favorites, refusing to let the other two pay for any of it. Seokmin and Mingyu walked out with headbands on their heads while Minghao wore a new pair of sunglasses. After that, they found another store where Minghao bought them all the same hoodie after Seokmin had suggested they’d all look cute in them. It was easy to agree when it made Seokmin that happy. After walking along a few more shops, they all grew hungry and went to find a place to sit. Seokmin shot a few more pictures of them, posting one of them to his Instagram.

“Seok-ah, I look terrible in this,” Minghao grumbled, clicking on the picture Seokmin posted. Mingyu set up their picnic, placing the food out neatly for them.

“You’ve said that about all the pictures he took of you,” Mingyu commented. Seokmin tsk’ed at him.

“You look pretty in all the pictures,” Seokmin said, shy smile on his face, eyes meeting Minghao’s. Minghao huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Mingyu grinned at that, finding the sight of the two way too nice to look away from.

“Alright we’ve established we’re all attractive people, now let’s eat,” Mingyu chuckled. So the three ate, talking about what else they could do for the next few weeks. They really wanted to be able to spend as much of it together as possible, this they all agreed on. None of them were sure how they ended up feeling this close after only several weeks but it was comforting. Seokmin had never made many friends in school so it was nice to have people to trust and open up to about things he was never able to. Minghao felt safe around them, like he wasn’t an outsider and actually belonged somewhere. Mingyu was at home with them, happy and like he was more important than he had ever been made to believe he was. Evidently, they all had something to give and gain being with each other, so even though their time was limited, it was worth it.

-

Seokmin was at a crossroads. Two weeks after their trip to the beach, the three spent more time together than they had before. He was very unaware of the fact either of them had any feelings for him but he did know one thing. The other two meant more to him than they should as just friends. Seokmin spent nights up awake, thinking and thinking about how he got himself in this situation and how he ended up developing feelings for not one but _ both _of his friends. He didn’t need this, he absolutely did not. Within the next few days, Seokmin felt more and more like he had to do something about it.

Every time Minghao came to the shop for his smoothie and giggled and talked about work and things he did with his roommate, the more Seokmin realized he really wanted to kiss him. They’d begun to hold hands a lot more often since the beach trip. They both knew Mingyu didn’t know about it, yet never spoke about it, not really sure as to what it meant if it even meant anything. They weren’t _ trying _to hide it but both of them couldn’t help but feel guilty about it and somehow ended up avoiding doing it when Mingyu would notice. Seokmin also began to flirt more openly with Minghao without realizing it, liking how it made Minghao smile and attempt to brush it off.

When it came to Mingyu it was a little different. Every time he was around, Seokmin wished he would pull him into a bear hug and never let him go. He wished Mingyu would cover him in kisses until he couldn’t breathe from how much it’d tickle and make him laugh. So he made up for it by clinging onto Mingyu a lot more often and thrived on Mingyu’s compliments and pet names. He loved the attention he got from Mingyu and found himself trying to get it out of him as often as he could. He loved the way Mingyu made him blush and made his day brighter every day.

So yes, Seokmin was in the biggest dilemma he’s ever had.

Minghao showed up at the smoothie shop after his class was over and Seokmin’s shift was finishing. He waited for him at a table so they could both catch a movie that Mingyu wasn’t going to be able to go to because he had agreed to hang out with Wonwoo. Minghao entertained himself on his phone as he waited for Seokmin to finish up and come out to meet him.

“You ready?” he asked as he saw Seokmin approach and got to his feet.

“Yeah but actually could I talk to you for a second before we go?” Seokmin said. It was hard to avoid the fact he looked extremely nervous. This worried Minghao as he sat down and took Seokmin’s hand over the table. Seokmin smiled weakly at him.

“Uh, listen,” Seokmin said softly, chewing on his lip. Minghao grew even more nervous, gripping Seokmin’s hand in his hand.

“It’s ok, Seok go ahead,” Minghao mumbled quietly.

“Minghao,” Seokmin said with a clearer voice. Minghao couldn’t say he wasn’t surprised by the usage of his birth name. It was nice hearing it from Seokmin’s mouth though. “I… think, no I know. I, um,” he whispered, still too nervous to say it. “I have feelings for you, I like you,” Seokmin rushed out, closing his eyes tightly. Minghao’s eyes widened, stunned by the sudden confession.

Neither of them noticed Mingyu had walked into the shop. He felt a lump in his throat as he swallowed. He tried to take in what was before him, Minghao’s hand in his, Seokmin’s words. It was a lot to take. Mingyu was jealous, he knew that much. It hurt and Mingyu didn’t know what to do. All he could do was rush back out though, not wanting to face either of them after that. His mind went blank as he avoided thinking about what had just happened and headed back home. He shouldn’t have cancelled with Wonwoo. He shouldn’t have walked into that shop, he shouldn’t have even come to Korea. California was his home now.


	3. run to you

Seokmin and Minghao couldn’t contact Mingyu for a good week. Mingyu had completely disappeared and they were both confused and devastated. It wasn’t until they contacted Wonwoo the next day that they found out Mingyu had taken the first flight out to California. It felt like everything was just crumbling around them, part of their world gone. The first few days their calls went to voicemail and their texts were ignored but after a week nothing would even go through anymore. At first they would spend restless nights together, worrying until Seokmin sometimes cried himself to sleep. It was awful, but it grew worse when the guilt set in.

Seokmin blamed himself for picking Minghao, told himself he should have shown Mingyu how much he cared about him and tried to get him to stay. Of course Seokmin had no idea this would happen and he tried his best to convince himself of that but the guilt grew too heavy.

Minghao believed he’d ruined their friendship by breaking the unspeakable rule between him and Mingyu that neither of them would try to get closer to Seokmin. He shouldn’t have gotten too close to him, he should’ve kept so much more distance like any regular friend would. He couldn’t blame Mingyu if he hated him.

So days turned into two weeks. Minghao would no longer pass by the smoothie shop anymore. Seokmin wouldn’t try to make any plans together. By that point, there was too much guilt and pain from not having the other two around. School for the two would start again in two weeks and they’d have to realize this was always meant to happen anyway.

  


“I think you should call him,” Junhui told Minghao one evening. He had been able to coax him out of his room by claiming that he wanted someone to watch his favorite drama with. _ Mingyu watched this drama, _was the only thing Minghao could think of as he curled up on the couch next to Junhui. It was a little odd that Junhui was even watching a Korean drama, but that was beside the point. He thought about how easily Mingyu and Junhui could have been friends, had things been different. Minghao hadn’t cried about it but it didn’t mean he was hurting any less. Junhui knew Minghao well enough to know he was still hurting and even though he put up a front for everyone else, there was more going on. He couldn’t bear to see Minghao like this any longer when it could possibly be fixed.

“He’s in another country,” Minghao mumbled, voice monotone. Junhui frowned, rubbing his friend’s shoulder.

“Seokmin, call Seokmin. He probably misses you too and he’s just as upset about Mingyu leaving as you are,” Junhui clarified. Minghao scoffed.

“You think I don’t know that?”

“It’s not your fault,” Junhui said, turning to face Minghao. Minghao refused to look up at him, eyes glued to the television. Junhui brushed his hand through the other’s hair, pushing it out of view. “None of it is your fault and you know that.” There was a short pause of silence, Minghao closed his eyes tightly.

“So why did he _ leave _ ?” Minghao hissed, sitting up straight. Junhui could see the tears that had built up under his eyes. He didn’t see him like this often and it hurt to know he couldn’t do much to fix it. “Why did he leave, Jun?” he asked again, voice weaker as his body slumped again. He looked down, his fingers tracing over his knee. “I knew I had seen him. When Seok confessed, I knew it was him, but I couldn’t believe it was. Seokmin doesn’t know that, and I know he’d just blame himself more if he knew when it’s not even his fault, it’s _ mine _. I shouldn’t have gotten in the way, Mingyu would still be here if I hadn’t gotten in the way.” Minghao had begun to steadily stream tears down his face, voice cracking through his words. Junhui pulled Minghao in close, wrapping his arms around his small torso. Minghao let the emotions sink in deep, beginning to sob into Junhui’s shoulder. “I miss them. So much,” he cried shakily, gripping Junhui’s shirt tightly. Junhui couldn’t do much but rub his back and let him cry out what he’d held in since Mingyu left. It was a lot he’d managed to keep in. “It’s so stupid I didn’t even get to know them that long but it hurts so much Jun,” Minghao whispered brokenly, still shaking through his tears.

“Hey, no, that doesn’t matter. You three grew so insanely close over two months they know you so well, you mean just as much to them as they do to you,” Junhui whispered, still rubbing Minghao’s back. “It never mattered that you both liked Seokmin.” Junhui continued to rub his back as Minghao cried, holding onto his friend tightly. They stayed like that for a good while, Minghao trembling in Junhui’s arms and Junhui wishing he could do something to fix all of it. Minghao hadn’t ever expressed feeling like this about anyone before and he could imagine the pain of losing two friends.

“It wasn’t just Seokmin,” Minghao mumbled quietly, sniffling as he began to cry less. Junhui pulled back a little and helped Minghao wipe away his tears.

“What do you mean?” Junhui asked, thumb brushing over his pale cheeks.

“I… I think I liked Mingyu too,” Minghao breathed out, trembling as he rubbed his eyes. Junhui’s eyebrows raised, though couldn’t really be completely surprised. He didn’t know how to respond though, just took Minghao’s hands in his and rubbed his knuckles gently. “I didn’t really think of it before ‘cause we were both always so distracted talking about Seokmin so much,” he continued. The two were sitting cross legged, drama on the television forgotten and facing each other.

“So you have feelings for both of them?” Junhui asked, causing Minghao to sigh in slight frustration. A few seconds passed before he finally nodded in affirmation. Junhui squeezed his hands. “There’s nothing wrong with that, people can like more than one person you know,” he said softly, “Do you… want something with them? A relationship?” Junhui was cautious with his words.

“No,” Minghao answered quickly then chewed on his bottom lip, thought about it a bit more. “I mean I could never choose between them, I just, I don’t want to sacrifice what we have and sometimes… sometimes I do, I wish I could hold one of their hands and… It just wouldn’t work I couldn’t choose.”

Junhui let out a short breath of laughter, slightly surprising Minghao. “I meant… together, both of them.” Minghao rose an eyebrow, confused at first. Though he responded soon after with a scoff.

“Yeah that only works if _ everyone _involved wants it,” Minghao said. “And that’s not even considering the fact Mingyu is on a whole other continent and isn’t speaking to us.” Minghao shook his head to himself.He hadn’t thought of it before but, thinking about it now just sounded… ridiculous. Something like that was so far out of the question that Minghao couldn’t help but be a little amused. 

“But it’s something you’d want right?”

Minghao looked up to meet Jun’s eyes. He couldn’t laugh about it, not when Jun presented the question to him so sincerely that Minghao couldn’t help but ignore the reality of the situation and follow what his heart truly desired. He chewed on his lip for a few seconds then sighed. “I mean… I think so? I don’t really know Jun, it’s hard to tell any of what I’m feeling when this is the first time I felt like this about anybody, uh anybody’s?” Junhui smiled just a little bit and rubbed his hands again.

“Call Seokmin, you need to,” Junhui said quietly, gripping his hand tightly. Minghao sniffled again and nodded. Junhui pulled him into a tight hug, ruffling his hair lightly.

  


-

  


Talking to Seokmin again was somewhat easier than he thought it would be. When he called, it only took two rings before Seokmin answered the phone, crying. Minghao, in a flurry of worry, rushed out to Seokmin’s place. His mother had let him in and Minghao rushed in go find him curled up in bed under a heap of blankets in his room.

“Myungho-ya,” Seokmin sniffled, though still looked happy as he sat up and met his friend’s eyes. Seokmin outstretched his arms right away and Minghao didn’t hesitate to kneel onto the bed and hold Seokmin. Seokmin wrapped his arms around Minghao’s neck, tucking his face under his chin. Minghao sucked in a breath of air heavily, immediately feeling better having his friend in his arms.

“Are you okay?” Minghao asked, rubbing his back gently. He paused. “You smell like alcohol.” Seokmin giggled lightly and Minghao sighed.

“I just had a little,” Seokmin said, suddenly tugging Minghao towards him. Minghao was taken by surprise, not being able to hold himself steady and falling atop of Seokmin.

“Seok-,” Minghao began to say as he tried to push himself back up, though cut himself off when Seokmin moved his hands up to his face. Minghao’s eyes drifted up to meet his, only barely able to register Seokmin’s proximity before the older kissed him. Minghao made a sound of surprise, not able to react to the kiss yet until Seokmin attempted to move his lips against his. He couldn’t help but kiss back when he finally processed what was going on. Seokmin pulled him back down against him, wrapping one arm around his neck as he moved his lips smoothly against the other’s. Minghao could practically hear their hearts beating, breath shaky between the two of them. They kissed slow and with awkward movements. There was a flurry of emotions going on inside of Minghao that made him never want to part from Seokmin’s sweet mouth or warm hold. What eventually had him pull away was realizing what exactly was going on. He was _ kissing _his friend, the friend he’d said he would never do anything with. “Seokmin, what’re you doing?” Minghao asked breathlessly, only pulling away far enough to meet his eyes. Seokmin began to tear up, his hands loosening around his neck then slipping away.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Myungho,” Seokmin breathed out shakily, the first few tears running down his cheeks. Minghao shook his head quickly, pulling him back up into a sitting position and holding him tight. Seokmin cried silently, tucking his face into his neck.

“It’s okay, don’t be sorry, you’re okay,” Minghao whispered, rubbing his back. He had no idea what to really do or say about Seokmin just kissing him.

“I know you don’t,” Seokmin paused to sniffle again, “You don’t feel the same about me, and I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry.” Minghao closed his eyes, not responding this time. He thought back to what had happened at the shop, when Seokmin confessed to him. It all happened so fast Minghao barely knew what was happening. After Seokmin told him about his feelings, Minghao didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say about it. He remembered thinking about Mingyu at that moment and not knowing why. Maybe it had been because it felt like he’d be betraying Mingyu if anything happened but it took a while before realizing it was never that. Now Minghao knew Seokmin needed to know that. He deserved to know everything, at least his part.

“I do,” Minghao murmured, pulling back to look at his friend. Seokmin scoffed and wiped away his tears with one hand.

“Don’t just say that,” Seokmin said, voice weak. Minghao shook his head and held his face gently with both hands.

“I do, I really do. You mean so much to me Seok-ah, more than just a friend would. I’ve liked you for a long time now,” Minghao confessed, rubbing Seokmin’s cheek gently. Seokmin looked at him with wide eyes, innocence and a little nervousness behind them. Minghao breathed in deeply. “But I just wasn’t sure if I could date you,” he said, much more quietly. Seokmin pressed his lips together tightly and blinked through a few more tears.

“Cause I’m not good enough.”

“_ No, _ no,” Minghao said immediately, “Of course not Seokmin, if anything I don’t _ deserve you _.” Seokmin shook his head but said nothing. Minghao took a few seconds to gather up the little courage he could find. “Listen, what I have to say next, I just, I need you to try to understand,” Minghao said nervously. He chewed on his lip as Seokmin stared at him silently then nodded.

“I will.”

Minghao looked away this time, not being able to really look him in the eye. “I like Mingyu,” he said in one breath, closing his eyes. Seokmin said nothing for a while and pretty soon the silence became too unbearable and Minghao looked up at him again. Seokmin looked like he was in shock but there was nothing else he could get from it.

“You like him more?” Seokmin asked hesitantly. Minghao grabbed Seokmin’s hands and shook his head.

“No, no, that's the thing, I like you both so much, I care about you a lot. You’re both so different but I really like you both and it just wouldn’t have been fair to you if I ever said yes to being with you when I had feelings for Mingyu.” Seokmin looked away this time and Minghao thought he would be crying again or that he was a few seconds away from pushing him away and asking him to leave or something equally as bad. Instead, Seokmin smiled a little. Minghao couldn’t imagine that happening in the middle of all of this.

“I like you both too,” Seokmin said, this time shyly, like Minghao was used to Seokmin being what felt like so long ago. “I didn’t pick you, but when Mingyu said he was leaving I kept telling myself I needed to at least have one of you and–,” Seokmin sighed, shaking his head, “I kept thinking I, maybe just shouldn’t have told you because I felt like it would ruin what we already had as friends, all three of us, it wouldn’t be the same.” Minghao looked down at their hands, rubbed his gently. Despite all this, there was still the problem that Mingyu liked Seokmin and he left because of it, was in another country because of it. How much of their trio could they repair when Minghao was the cause of his leaving?

“What do we do?” Minghao asked quietly, still rubbing Seokmin’s hands. “What are we supposed to do now?” Seokmin breathed in deeply, moving one of his hands to interlock his fingers with Minghao’s. The two sat in silence for a few more seconds, letting all this new information sink in. It was a lot to take in at once and all of it was new territory for the both of them.

“Is it bad if…” Seokmin tried to say before sighing and shaking his head. Minghao looked up, raising his eyebrows.

“What is it?” Seokmin shook his head, not wanting to meet his eyes. “Please Seok, you can tell me anything,” he encouraged. Seokmin chewed on his bottom lip, paused a few more seconds.

“I think we should try to find Mingyu again, figure out what’s going on and what we should do about all of this,” Seokmin said and Minghao nodded in agreement before he continued, “but what if we can’t find him? I don’t… I just– is it bad if I want you now? You don’t– it’s okay if you don’t want anything with me, ah…” Seokmin was flustered, barely being able to put together the words he wanted to say. Minghao was patient with him as he tried to speak his thoughts. “You already said we probably shouldn’t be together, I know that, and _ I _ said it too but just knowing that you feel the same about me and you’re here, right now, and Mingyu isn’t and Mingyu probably doesn’t even feel the same about me anyway. I can’t help but be a little selfish.” Seokmin finally let out a heavy breath once he’d said what he wanted to say. Minghao looked down at their hands as he absorbed everything Seokmin said. Mingyu _ did _ like Seokmin, and now Minghao didn’t know if he should be telling him the truth or hold his tongue because it wasn’t his business to tell. Minghao also didn’t think it would be okay to bring up the whole _ polyamory thing _because it was evident it would already be a struggle to fix their friendship, let alone start something like that. It hurt to think about Mingyu not being apart of the equation but the reality was Mingyu could possibly be gone forever and Minghao couldn’t really believe that he wouldn’t feel happy having only Seokmin. Seokmin already made him feel so cared for and happy and like there could really be so much more between them. It wasn’t fair that they would limit what could be a happy relationship just because there was someone else they had feelings for.

“It’s not bad, it’s not selfish,” Minghao whispered, a little scared of whatever this all was. He squeezed Seokmin’s hands and looked up at him, when Seokmin didn’t look up, he let go of one of his hands to touch his cheek. Seokmin breathed in shakily and looked up, eyes meeting his. “I don’t know how we’ll find Mingyu, or if we even can but I don’t think either of us should keep from being happy… You make me happy,” Minghao said so quietly Seokmin could barely hear him. Seokmin’s lips curved only a little into a tiny smile and Minghao replicated it.

“I care about you… so much, Myungho-ya,” Seokmin murmured, eyes soft. They both just looked at each other for a few more seconds, taking this in. Minghao’s eyes moved to their hands again before he sighed and began to change his position then got up. Seokmin watched him with wide eyes, confused.

“Come on, you need to wash up,” Minghao said, the hand that was still in his tugging him up to his feet as well. Seokmin gave him a confused look then laughed weakly.

“Are you saying I smell or something?” Seokmin asked, smoothing out his wrinkled shirt as if that would do anything.

“Yes,” Minghao deadpanned and Seokmin feigned hurt though let himself be led to the bathroom. “Get cleaned up, then we’ll figure out what we’re going to do about Mingyu and… us.” Seokmin gave him a small smile, though still a little sad. Minghao leaned forward and pressed a small soft kiss to his cheek. Seokmin smiled just a little wider then closed the door between them to get cleaned up. Minghao sighed, staying in place for a while before he began to tidy up Seokmin’s room. He eventually found the bottle of soju under his bed. Minghao couldn’t help but laugh a little, the fact that the bottle probably only had a few sips taken from it. Seokmin was obviously not drunk, Minghao had been able to tell that much, but he knew well that Seokmin didn’t like alcohol very much so it was a little funny that he thought it would help anything. Minghao continued about the room, picking up his clothes and making the bed. As he finished cleaning up, he thought to pull out something for Seokmin to wear, picking a white t shirt and some of his nicer sweatpants. Seokmin came out of the bathroom as he laid out the clothes, one towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hand as he dried his hair.

“Thank you,” Seokmin said and Minghao turned to face him, a small smile on his lips. Seokmin gathered up the clothes and headed back to the bathroom to change.

“I’ll wait for you here,” Minghao said, before Seokmin was out of the room. He sat back down on the bed, closing his eyes as he laid his head back against the headboard. There was so much running through his mind, most of it centered around Mingyu. What could he be doing right now? Was he just as pained and ruined and lonely as they were or had he already forgotten about them? Did they even mean as much to him as he did to them? It hurt to think of any of it being that way but maybe they didn’t know Mingyu as well as they had thought. There was no doubt in his mind that they had to find Mingyu and know for sure how Mingyu would fit in all of this if he even wanted anything to do with them. Minghao wouldn’t blame him anyway if he didn’t. A few more minutes passed as he sorted through his clouded mind.

“Hey,” Seokmin’s voice brought him out of his thoughts, soft and sweet. Minghao had definitely missed Seokmin’s voice, his presence, his warmth. He looked up to watch Seokmin on the bed next to him, legs folding up close to his chest and arms wrapping around them. He smelled of coconut and mint, inviting Minghao to pull him in closer with one arm. Seokmin inhaled softly in surprise, though loosened his arms around his legs and tucked himself in closer to the younger and smaller boy. Minghao thought he fit perfectly in his arms anyway.

“I’m sorry for ignoring you,” Minghao mumbled into his damp hair, rubbing his hand over Seokmin’s shoulder. “We were both missing him and it was shitty of me to cut you out.” Seokmin lifted his head to look at him, ready to respond but stopped when Minghao squeezed his shoulder. “Just, let me say this,” he said, pressing his lips into a small weak smile. Seokmin nodded. “I was thinking about it for a while, I wasn’t sure if I should tell you or not because it’s Mingyu’s stuff not mine but I didn’t want you possibly finding out later and being upset with me or something.” Seokmin’s eyes were wide as he listened to him, attentive to his words. It made Minghao more nervous. This could end anything possible between them, Minghao realized. “Mingyu… has feelings for you,” he swallowed thickly, avoiding Seokmin’s gaze, “He has for a while, maybe even longer than I have but he didn’t want to do anything about it because he knew I liked you too and didn’t want to ruin anything between us. I promised him it wouldn’t, but I just can’t help but think I should have pushed him more towards you because I wanted him to be happy and I didn’t want to get in the way between you. And then the day you told me how you felt, Mingyu… Mingyu was there.” Seokmin was frozen in place, lips parted. It felt like hours turned into minutes then hours of silence. Eventually, Seokmin spaced himself from Minghao, rubbing his hands over his face then hair. When he looked at Minghao again, there were tears in his eyes.

“So you’re saying _ I’m _the reason he’s gone?” Seokmin said, voice breaking as the tears started rolling down his cheeks. Minghao felt his heart drop at the sight, hating to see the pain in his eyes. He reached out for Seokmin who avoided his gesture and stood up. Minghao felt a sharp pain inside, hurt by his moving away. 

“You’re _ not _ the reason, Seokmin. I’m the reason he’s gone, I didn’t keep my distance from you, I didn’t respect what he wanted,” Minghao said, standing up and grabbing Seokmin’s shoulders, wanting him to understand. Seokmin didn’t meet his eyes, shaking his head violently as he really began to cry.

“I _ confessed _to you, I’m the one who ruined it, Myungho!” He cried, pushing Minghao’s hands off of him. He wiped at his tears forcefully and kept shaking his head.

“You didn’t know Seokmin, that’s not your fault and Mingyu didn’t give you a chance to explain. If he was still here right now he’d know and things could be different,” Minghao said, grabbing Seokmin’s hands. Seokmin didn’t resist this time, still crying.

“Different _ how _?” Seokmin shuddered out forcefully, “How? I ruined us.”

“Better, Seokmin. He should’ve stayed to hear us both out but he didn’t. And all we can do after all this is look for him and tell him and go from there. You can’t blame yourself, I spent the whole last two weeks blaming myself and I still kind of blame myself but the fact of the matter is there’s no knowing what someone will do when they have feelings for someone, whatever happens is inevitable. All we can do now is find Mingyu and talk to him and figure all of this bullshit out, okay?” Seokmin was breathing heavily, watery eyes concentrated on Minghao as he slowly calmed down. “I can’t stand to see you like this, don’t let him do that to you,” he whispered, holding his face in his hands and wiping away his tears. “Because right now I can’t help but be a little pissed at him, nobody should make you cry like this.” Seokmin was able to muster a tiny smile in response, though he still sniffled.

“You’re right,” he agreed, pausing a second before stepping closer and wrapping his arms around Minghao’s torso and tucking his head into his neck. Minghao was slightly surprised by the action but welcomed the hug anyway, wrapping his arms around Seokmin’s body. He rubbed his back slowly and they stood this way for a while until Seokmin finally pulled back. “It doesn’t matter how he feels about me, ‘cause he left, right?”

Minghao breathed in softly, looking at Seokmin’s wide, reddened eyes. “No matter how upset I am with him, I still think we need to talk to him, hear him out.” Seokmin swallowed thickly, eyes downcasting as he nodded. Minghao found it hard to decipher what he wanted, and what would be best. In truth, it could all end ugly, if Mingyu really felt that strongly about Seokmin as Minghao did, there possibly couldn’t be any possibility of repairing their friendship. Minghao had always thought Mingyu deserved to have Seokmin for himself anyway, strangely had even thought they’d look good together. But at the same time, Seokmin was a possibility Minghao wanted to have too and he had _ proposed _ something between them already and how was Minghao supposed to ignore that?

“I’m… hungry,” Seokmin murmured after a moment of comfortable silence. Minghao was brought out of his thoughts and chuckled, bringing his hands back up to Seokmin’s face. He rubbed his cheeks in a soft gesture, eyes meeting Seokmin’s softer ones. He began to pull them away, thinking about what his kitchen could have to feed Seokmin. Seokmin stopped him. He placed one hand over his, still watching Minghao. Minghao rose his eyebrows in question. “Can I…” Minghao’s heart caught in his throat, and he swallowed thickly, begging it to go back down. He didn’t know what was right, he didn’t know what was an actual rational decision. But as Seokmin looked at him with pleading eyes, big and round, he didn’t think he should ponder what was right and wrong anymore. So he wrapped his free arm back around Seokmin’s back, pulling him just a few centimeters closer and leaning in a little closer to place a soft kiss on his lips. Seokmin melted against him, his hand moving to Minghao’s neck as he kissed him back, both a little shaky and uncoordinated. They kissed for a few more seconds, kept it light mostly out of nerves. When they pulled away, Seokmin wasn’t able to meet his eyes just yet and Minghao smiled.

“It’s okay if you don’t ask,” Minghao murmured, still trying to meet his eyes though failed. Seokmin’s cheeks dusted light pink. He finally looked up though, looked between his eyes and lips before leaning back in for another kiss, Minghao taking it happily. This time it was less timid, able to put more care into it, what they were really feeling. It was better than anything else he’d experienced.

  


-

  


The next day, the two spoke to Wonwoo. Wonwoo at first refused to say anything, a big contrast to the first time they asked about Mingyu. But when he realized himself that Minghao and Seokmin were really the only ones who could help, he gave them a new number and an address.

“I’ll go,” Seokmin said. They were both sitting in Minghao’s car still not having driven away from Wonwoo’s place. Minghao’s eyebrows raised. The suggestion was absolutely terrible.

“Why would you go alone?” Minghao asked, the disapproval showing clear on his face.

“Myungho-ya, neither of us can really even afford a single plane ticket, let alone two. I know enough English to get around and I just have so much I need to say to him. Plus this is your last week at work you can’t leave that,” Seokmin explained. And okay, he _ sort of _made some good points but Minghao couldn’t possibly agree anyway.

“You think I don’t have things I need to say to him? Don’t you think there’s some stuff we need to clear up together? Mingyu isn’t going to come back and I can’t give up the last possible time I’ll get to see him,” Minghao argued. He sighed heavily and reached over to grab Seokmin’s hand holding it tight. “We should just call him.”

“And what if he doesn’t hear us out?” Seokmin said, shaking his head.

“So flying to another country, to his house unannounced where he could do the same is any better?”

“Minghao, please, it needs to be done like this. He won’t ignore me if I’m there. And you two kept a lot from me, I need his explanation more than anything.” Minghao didn’t respond, looking ahead, fingers tight on the steering wheel. It wasn’t the best choice but it was the only choice they could go through with.

“Okay,” he agreed, not wanting to look at Seokmin anymore. Seokmin placed his hand on Minghao’s thigh and squeezed gently. Minghao turned the car on and drove them home. Minghao had stayed over at Seokmin’s the night before, slept comfortable with his body pressed up against him. It was some of the best sleep he’d gotten in a while. Now Minghao didn’t even know if he should be following him home or going to his own apartment. Though every fiber of his being told him he needed to stay with Seokmin. It wasn’t until they arrived at his apartment that Minghao finally spoke again. “We’ll both pay for the expenses, and don’t say no either because there’s a lot I want you to say for me too, okay?” Seokmin nodded, squeezing his hand over the center console.

  


-

  


The states were… different. Seokmin wasn’t very fond of it the minute he had gotten through to baggage claim and someone near knocked him over in their rush. It was worse being alone, nobody or anything familiar around him. This was Seokmin’s _ first _time out of the country and the fact that it had to go this way wasn’t something he was fond of. Thankfully, he’d paid attention in school and reading signs and getting directions came easy enough to him. He’d never had to use English with anyone else but himself in the mirror so it was definitely pretty different.

When he arrived at San Francisco airport, he got on a train to Stanford University. After arriving there, he walked to where the address had directed him to an off-campus living area. It wasn’t a far walk and he was able to somewhat enjoy it, eyeing the beautiful campus as he approached the large apartment village. Seokmin needed to ask directions from three people when he got there to be able to find where Mingyu lived. It was evidently difficult to follow the extensive instructions from the strangers who spoke too quickly. He finally made it though, checking the address saved on his phone as he looked at the door in front of him displaying the correct number. Seokmin knocked lightly on the door, waited a minute and received no answer. He began to grow nervous, not sure if Mingyu was even home and what he was supposed to do if he wasn’t. There he was, unfamiliar Americans walking and chatting by him while he stood nervously at the door with a bag in hand. He knocked again and this time received an immediate reply.

“Who is it?” shouted a familiar yet still strange voice. Seokmin knew it was Mingyu, could tell right away through the thick accent in the foreign language.

“It’s me,” is all Seokmin said in their mother tongue, knew that Mingyu wouldn’t need anything else but that. His heartbeat quickened through each passing silent second and he began to grow unbelievably antsy. Seconds ticked and ticked by and Seokmin opened his mouth to try again. The doorknob jiggled then twisted open, the door swinging fast. Seokmin was still taken by surprise when he saw Mingyu before him, still the same Mingyu, tall and pretty. Yet, tired.

“Seokmin-ah,” Mingyu breathed out and Seokmin felt like he could breathe just a little more upon hearing Mingyu speak his name. Mingyu had a mix of emotions showing on his face that Seokmin couldn’t decipher. But all Seokmin knew was that he wanted to hug Mingyu, wanted to cling tight and never let him go. “Ah, come in,” he breathed out, backing up to let Seokmin pass by. Neither of them looked away from each other as Seokmin stepped inside and the door was closed behind him.

“Mingyu,” Seokmin started, though cut himself off with a gasp as Mingyu practically threw himself at him, wrapping his arms tight around Seokmin.

“God, I missed you, Seokmin I missed you so much,” Mingyu began to cry, burying his face into his shoulder. Seokmin was clearly shocked, didn’t move his arms or was able to force out a word. A hug is the last he expected and even though it was the only thing he wanted, he suddenly didn’t know how to react. Eventually, he wrapped his arms around Mingyu, squeezing him tight. A few minutes passed by as they held each other and Mingyu stopped crying, sniffling instead. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, “I’m so so sorry.” Seokmin felt like he could breathe so much better, felt complete, felt like the past two weeks had never even happened. Eventually they pulled away and Mingyu led Seokmin to sit, trying to offer him water and anything else he could think of to make him comfortable. He was obviously nervous, didn’t know what to do either considering Seokmin hadn’t said anything the entire time. Eventually he knew he had to say something.

“We need to talk, there’s a lot I need to say and a lot you need to explain to me Mingyu,” Seokmin said, distanced about half a meter away from the other. It pained him to be far from him now but he needed it.

“I know… I know.”

  
  


-

  


It was Friday after work that Minghao drove to the airport, nerves at their highest point since Seokmin left on Tuesday. Seokmin had vaguely updated him through scattered text messages on what was going on in California so there wasn’t much he knew except that Mingyu was on the plane with him. When Minghao had received that bit of information, relief was the first thing he felt. Things weren’t completely ruined for them, Mingyu was really going to come back. He had no idea for what reason, or what Seokmin could have said to him to make him want to return. The fact Minghao didn’t know a single thing about it absolutely frustrated him. Seokmin had said he couldn’t say much because Mingyu wanted to say it for himself. Minghao was angry at first, wanted to fully know what had happened during the two days Seokmin spent with Mingyu yet wasn’t able to know. But as Minghao watched Seokmin and Mingyu appear at the gate, hands linked together and big smiles on their faces, he could care less about anything else.

“Myungho-ya!” Mingyu exclaimed first, letting go of Seokmin’s hand and the squeaky suitcase he was rolling with the other and running towards Minghao. It was like he was finally getting the ending of the movie Mingyu began starring in the second he walked into that smoothie shop almost three months ago. Minghao was overwhelmed, didn’t expect Mingyu to run towards him and pick him up in a big hug. But he held onto Mingyu anyway, held on like he’d never be able to hold him again. “I missed you, oh god I missed you so much Myungho,” he said breathlessly as he put Minghao back down. Neither dared part from the other, arms holding each other close.

“I missed you too,” Minghao whispered, tucking himself in as close as he could to the taller boy. Seokmin eventually caught up to them, difficult as it was with a suitcase and two bags in hand. Seokmin dropped the luggage and Mingyu finally pulled away to look at Seokmin who was smiling brightly.

“Let’s go home, please,” Minghao said first, looking between the two, “You both have a lot to tell me.” He was upset now, was obvious all over his face as he grabbed one of the bags and led the other two to his car. It was silent on the drive, Mingyu sitting in the back and Seokmin in the passenger seat. Minghao couldn’t help but steal glances into the back seat over and over, obviously caught most of the time by a nervous looking Mingyu.

What could have possibly happened in California? Why would Mingyu come back? Why did he have his entire suitcase with him when school was supposed to start for him in less than a week?

They all arrived at Mingyu’s apartment, still quiet as they clumsily got inside with luggage in tow. Mingyu left his things in his room and Seokmin went to get water for the three of them while Minghao nervously sat in the living area. After a few minutes they all rejoined on the couch. Mingyu sat on the lone arm chair beside the other two who sat on the small couch.

“So, uh,” Mingyu said first, awkward and a little shaky. He rubbed his hands on his jeans. Seokmin rubbed his eye, obviously extremely exhausted yet fighting through it. Minghao didn’t know how Mingyu wasn’t tired. The flight must have been long.

_ But was that something to really be thinking about right now? _

“Just tell me everything that happened from the moment Seokmin arrived,” Minghao said flatly, leaning forward with his forearms on his thighs. Mingyu licked his lips and nodded.

“Okay well, when Seokmin showed up I was just, you know really surprised. But. Happy, I missed you both a lot and seeing Seokmin was just what I needed. I told him I saw you both, at the shop that day. And Seok said you told him about it and about uh, me,” Mingyu said, avoiding Minghao’s eyes as he spoke. Seokmin’s fingers curled a little. “And I just got, really upset, we didn’t talk a good while until I realized I was being an ass and I should be apologizing to you guys. I was wrong to just leave and not tell you what was going on. I was hurt, I guess, and jealous?” Mingyu swallowed thickly, growing nervous again. Minghao wasn’t sure why, considering none of this was really new. “I felt like I’d been pushed off to the side like I didn’t matter anymore. It was weird the way that felt but all I knew was that I felt… left out? And by the time I was on the plane I realized all of that was bullshit. The reason I was so upset was because I felt like something was changing between us and things wouldn’t be the same, that it wouldn’t be _ us _. I don’t know if I’m explaining that right, ah…”

“He felt safe and happy as a trio and the reason he never tried to ask me to go any further with him was because it meant our dynamics would change,” Seokmin explained for him and Mingyu finally met Minghao’s eyes.

“I was never jealous, I couldn’t possibly be jealous, I just felt like I wouldn’t be apart of your lives anymore,” Mingyu added quietly. 

“You know that’s absurd right?” Minghao said, raising an eyebrow, “Even if two of us went out, we’re all still friends, friends means putting effort into making each other feel safe and happy, having fun together.”

“Except I don’t want to be friends,” Mingyu blurted, in a way that was obvious he forced himself to say it before he could chicken out of it. Minghao’s eyebrows scrunched together. Mingyu ran his hand through his hair nervously. “The reason I didn’t come back or talk to you both even after realizing that was because I couldn’t possibly ask you to be more than friends.”

“Ask… me?” Minghao said, confusion clear on his face. All of it was just beginning to sound like nonsense. Minghao was having trouble following.

“Ask both of you,” Mingyu said quietly. Minghao’s lips parted, looked at Mingyu for some sign that he was joking. He turned to look at Seokmin who only raised his eyebrows at him. Mingyu _ really _ said that. “I don’t know when I started to have… feelings for you, but realizing it back in California, was scary, and… odd. I thought about how Seokmin had made the right choice in picking you, I mean why _ wouldn’t _he want you?” Mingyu had a small blush on his cheeks now. It was a little strange to verbally express his feelings for Minghao when he’d spent so long focusing on Seokmin. “But when he told me about… about how you felt and that you’d said you wanted Seokmin and I together regardless of that, I thought maybe we could all have something different.”

Seokmin was watching the two silently, sleepiness still evident but the tears collecting in his eyes due to Mingyu’s words. It was hard to believe any of this was happening. He didn’t know what Minghao would say, and he realized their futures would really lie on what his decision was. 

“I’m… I don’t know what to say?” Minghao said, laying back against the couch. Stress was clear on his face and a million thoughts ran through his mind. What was he supposed to say to that? 

“Just… take your time,” Mingyu said quietly, wringing his hands together nervously again. Minghao sat up and eyed the two.

“What did you say about this?” Minghao asked Seokmin.

“Nothing, I said he needed to tell you.”

Minghao paused again.

Silence.

“And why’re you here with so much stuff?”

“Oh uh… I dropped out,” Mingyu said with a small chuckle at the end.

“You did _ what?” _Minghao asked with wide eyes. Mingyu smiled a little.

“I dropped out, I finally did it. I was planning on doing it before, I came to actually tell you both that day at the shop and that I was gonna stay. I’d already had my stuff packed up to leave the next day when Seokmin arrived. Thankfully I was still in time to back out of the lease on an apartment I was going to get in New York,” Minghao couldn’t really believe what he was hearing, shook his head to himself. “I never wanted to stay in America anyway, I want to move to Seoul, try to get a career started there,” he added, the smile still on his lips.

“I’m happy for you,” Minghao said, returning the smile hesitantly. He had many more questions about it but he knew he could ask them later. The silence set over the three of them again, Minghao’s eyes concentrated on the floor.

“You don’t have to feel like you have to have anything more with me,” Mingyu said, suddenly moving from the couch and onto the floor to kneel in front of Minghao. He took one of his hands in his. “I know you and Seokmin already, got a little closer and that’s fine. That’s all completely fine cause I realized how stupid I was thinking I couldn’t still have you two anyway as friends. I care about you both so much and I know it’s only been 3 months since I met you both but we got to know each other so well and you’re my best friends now, I wouldn’t give you two up for the world even if you two decide to have a relationship together.” Minghao couldn’t help but smile, looked at Seokmin then started laughing. Mingyu looked taken aback as Minghao laughed more, covering his mouth with one hand to try to stop himself. Just as Mingyu opened his mouth to ask what was so funny, Minghao kneeled on the ground with him and hugged him tightly.

“I want you,” Minghao said after he stopped laughing, arms wrapped around Mingyu’s neck. Mingyu’s arms were tight around his waist. He let out a short breath of air and turned to look at Seokmin, incredulous. “Both of you, I want both of you, please,” Minghao said, pulling away to look at Mingyu then at Seokmin. They both noticed at this point that he was tearing up and Mingyu cooed, outstretching an arm to Seokmin who quickly joined the other two.

“Why’re you crying?” Mingyu asked though was tearing up himself. Minghao giggled, looking at both of them.

“You’re both such a mess,” Minghao said, big smile on his face.

“Hey, it’s really emotional,” Mingyu said as he laughed as well through a few sniffles. Seokmin was fully crying now, stuffed his face in Minghao’s shoulder as he let it out. He was basically sandwiched between the other two, at an awkward angle so his arm was still sort of around Mingyu as well. It was all a mess, all three of them. Everything was a complete mess to get there but Minghao was just as happy anyway.

“What does this mean then?” Minghao asked as Seokmin began calming down. “Are we like…? Dating or something?” Mingyu smiled and Seokmin hiccuped against him.

“If that’s what you want?” Mingyu said, chewing on his lip.

“Is it what _ you _want?” Minghao asked and Mingyu smiled again, wider.

“Of course.”

“Seokmin?”

Seokmin hiccuped again, looked up between the two and nodded.

“I never thought I would get this far,” Seokmin mumbled, smiling through a sniffle. Minghao smiled, leaned in to kiss Seokmin’s cheek. Seokmin blushed bright tucking himself back into Minghao’s neck.

“What about me?” Mingyu said, pout on his lips. Minghao smiled, eyes drifting between his eyes to his lips. Seokmin managed to look up at the two in time to know he needed to pull away. Minghao threw his arms around Mingyu the second there wasn’t any space between them, kissed him hard and with everything he ever wanted to put into it for weeks. Mingyu wrapped his arms around Minghao’s waist, kissed him back with the same power, lips moving slowly against his. Seokmin in the process pulled himself onto the couch, curled up, drifting in and out of consciousness. He had the other two in his vision just as he finally fell asleep. Minghao kissed Mingyu until he was losing his breath, couldn’t handle the thought of pulling away. When he did, it was because something came to mind.

“Have you kissed Seokmin?” Minghao asked, lips red and glistening when he parted. Mingyu laughed lightly, glanced at Seokmin who was beginning to snore.

“No,” he said, a slight pout returning, “There was a lot going on. Considering I thought you might choose Seokmin over me…” Minghao laughed this time though covered his mouth when he remembered not to be loud.

“I guess I’ll have to kiss you for the both of us then,” Minghao said with a small grin and Mingyu smiled as well, kissing him again, soft and smooth, everything they both needed.

“Does he kiss well?” Mingyu asked this time the one to pull away. Minghao laughed, putting his head on Mingyu’s shoulder and shaking his head.

“He kisses really well, you’re gonna have to find out for yourself later,” Minghao said, pulling away completely now and getting to his feet. “Come on, the both of you should sleep, jet lag must be killing.” Mingyu got up to his feet as well and Minghao turned to see him picking Seokmin up from the couch. He couldn’t help but eye his arms as he lifted the probably heavy boy. Of course Mingyu would be able to do it effortlessly.

When they were both in bed, Mingyu spaced slightly from Seokmin, Minghao moved to leave the room.

“Wait,” Mingyu said sleepily, all of the exhaustion finally having set in. He sat up in bed to look at Minghao.

“Hm?”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll just be out in the living room,” Minghao said, reassuring smile on his lips. Mingyu nodded, though still looked uneasy. Minghao walked back over to Mingyu’s side of the bed. He sat carefully on the edge, body turned to face Mingyu. Mingyu laid back down and looked up at him, exhaustion on his features. “When you both wake up we still need to talk okay?” Mingyu nodded again, and Minghao brushed his hand through the other’s long hair, pushing it out of his face. Mingyu gave him a sleepy smile and closed his eyes.

“We’re gonna be okay?” Mingyu mumbled, words slurred together. Minghao’s fingers traced down to Mingyu’s cheek, rubbing over the smooth skin gently. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss to it and hummed.

“Yeah, we’re gonna be okay.”

Minghao sat there until Mingyu fell asleep then got up to leave, closing the door behind him and heading to the living room. He sat on the couch with a heavy sigh, closing his eyes as he took in everything that had happened. He knew there was more they needed to discuss regarding the dynamics of their relationship, but whatever happened, Minghao knew things could work out for them. He knew they would be happy.

They’d be complete. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you EVERYONE so much for reading, I'm really happy with how this turned out. it was a little simple but I'm proud of it and hope you all enjoyed! Support Seventeen's upcoming comeback!!!
> 
> // i have begun taking prompts and requests(svt pairings only)!! leave them here: https://curiouscat.me/honeyanann


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